Pastor's Thoughts #1

I've lifted this straight from the Global Connections website blog. It challenged me when I read it, and stirred me too. But what am I going to do about it? Anything? What about you?

"I admit to a degree of smug enjoyment when teaching a class on missions and asking the class what they think are important tools that God has given us to do mission. (I try and reward the students with chocolate). There are multiple answers but there is one answer I’m waiting for in particular: food. Yes, food is incredibly important in doing mission. Jesus, of course, modelled eating and drinking with people he was calling. From his disciples, to Pharisees, to hated tax collectors; Jesus ate with them. Similarly, Luke’s Gospel is famous for highlighting the concept of “table-fellowship,” of the importance of eating with people, merging with the idea of the Messiah’s Feast (feeding of the 5000) and the Lord’s supper. John, too, points to the importance of Eucharistic life, which involves eating and drinking with Jesus and each other.

So, food is a wonderful tool to help in our mission. Indeed, a provocative question is “If we’re not eating with the people we are reaching out to, are we really doing mission?” The spin off questions from that are big ones. How open am I to eat together with, and invite home, the people I am involved with in my mission? Would bringing food into the way we related make missional bonds stronger? But I end this with the provocative one: If we are not prepared to eat with people, are we stuck doing mission at arm’s length??"